Forever and Always
by Mrs. Briefs
Summary: No matter what the situation, love prevails in the end. Even if you're two teenage boys just trying to find the right ending. SasuNaru/NaruSasu. A/U. Series of one-shots.


A/N: As mentioned in the summary, this is going to turn into a series of SasuNaru/NaruSasu one-shots. Each will be based upon a fairy tale, but there are many significant differences that allow each one-shot to stand all on its own.

**Warnings: **All of these one-shots are featuring a yaoi (boyxboy) couple, so if you're uncomfortable with things like that I don't recommend you keep reading. Also, I have a certain way of doing things that some of you might want to know about. All of these one-shots won't be exclusively featuring only one person topping and the other one taking the bottom; I enjoy diversity and I think it would be more fun to read that way, so don't get too upset if you prefer one over the other.

On another note, I hope you all enjoy this and I will no longer keep you from reading.

**Disclaimer:** Naruto doesn't belong to me, he belongs to Sasuke.

* * *

Sasuke stared out at the beautiful rolling hills that spread out across the kingdom from his balcony in the palace.

He often did this when he was feeling stressed out after some important banquet with noblemen from neighboring kingdoms, but today was different.

His father, Uchiha Fugaku, was the king of Konohogakure, which made him and Itachi the future heirs to the kingdom. Sasuke always took all of his princely duties quite seriously, whereas his brother did not.

Even though Itachi had proved to be a prodigy with unrivaled fighting prowess, he hardly took the time to bother with his particular duties as the eldest son. He spent most of his time with a group of other young noblemen that called themselves the Akatsuki. Sasuke had no idea why they did, although he supposed it had something to do with the fact that they were all amazing fighters.

He himself was also a formidable combatant but had never been interested in the stupid things his brother did. As far as he was concerned Itachi could do whatever the hell he wanted; but he preferred not step outside the boundaries his father had laid out for them. Sure, he loved his brother and had a deep connection with him, but his pride didn't allow him to deviate from the impeccable path he was on. His reputation as prince was very high, but it was still unlikely that he would inherit the kingdom. Despite all Sasuke's efforts to please his father, Fugaku still favored Itachi over him because of his seemingly limitless talents.

The only reason Sasuke even had a chance at becoming king was because on the eve of Itachi's 17th birthday, he had rejected every woman at the ball and refused to get married. He'd said he was too good for any of them, but Sasuke knew better than to believe him. There was another hidden reason why Itachi would not wed, but he had yet to figure out that motive. Either way, if another year went by and Itachi still didn't choose his wife, than Sasuke would become the official heir as the ancient law declared.

He let out a troubled sigh and stepped back inside his room, leaving the doors slightly ajar to allow the summer breeze inside.

Tomorrow he would be forced to choose a bride and make her his princess since it was his 17th birthday, the traditional age to get married in the Uchiha family.

Everybody in the castle was busy frantically preparing for the special occasion, but all he felt like doing at the moment was sulking in his room and refusing to let anybody come inside to talk to him.

His mother had tried many times, but had eventually given up after a while, knowing what Sasuke could be like when he was annoyed.

The truth was, it was monumentally frustrating for him to have to choose a girl out of the blue in just one night. He'd spent his whole life completely ignoring the dreamy looks and excessive flirting from practically every woman (and even a few men) that he came into contact with. He found people irritating. It was as simple as that.

He really only had one friend, and the dobe was practically more annoying than anyone else. He wasn't even of royal blood, something his father had frowned upon since day one, but Sasuke really didn't care. That was one thing, he guessed, that he didn't have in common with his father.

He didn't discriminate or look down upon people of lower rank than him. He didn't see the point; they were people, and that was that. Of course, Fugaku could never understand his logic, but then again Sasuke never expected him to.

A loud knock on his door forced him out of his thoughts, and Sasuke glared at it with annoyance written all over his dark orbs. "I thought I told you I didn't want to talk to anybody right now," he called out to whoever it was at the door this time, trying to keep the aggressiveness out of his voice.

"You have a visitor, sir," the other voice said, slightly muffled behind the wooden entrance.

Sasuke moved from where he had been standing then, smoothing down his slightly ruffled shirt as he crossed the room to the door handle.

"Who is it?" he asked simply, discarding his glare and putting on his usual emotionless mask instead.

"Uzumaki Naruto, your Highness. I told him to wait for you downstairs, but he was insistent as always and only stayed because Itachi-san managed to get to him before he could come up here," the servant reported, the sweat on his brow evidence that the dobe had not doubt stressed him out quite a bit.

"It's definitely that usuratonkachi then," Sasuke sighed, smirking in slight amusement. For some irritating reason just the mention of Naruto's name had him in a better mood. Really the only people that could ever manage to make him smile even a little were Naruto and Itachi. Which he didn't like. At all.

"Tell him I'll be down in minute, if he's here for the reason I think he is than I have to get a few things first," he said, shutting the door before the servant could respond.

The only motive Naruto ever had to come to the palace to visit him was because he wanted to spar, which was just fine with him. He knew Naruto had knowledge of his father's strong disliking toward him even though he could be a total idiot at times. For this reason Sasuke was usually the one to go to his house or they just agreed on a place to meet.

They had never found a better place to spar than in the castle's vast grounds that included a secluded lake that set the perfect mood for fighting. In fact, it was where they had first met.

Naruto's father had come to the castle on buisness back before he and his wife died while they were traveling home and killed by bandits. While Minato talked with the king Naruto had gotten bored and decided to go exploring outside the palace. He'd gotten himself lost and ended up at the lake, where Sasuke had happened to be watching Itachi while he trained.

When he noticed the seemingly lost boy with shocking blonde hair and eyes that reminded him of the sparkling lake on a summer day, Sasuke had walked over to him and asked him what he was doing.

"I'm exploring!" he had exclaimed with a grin so genuinely happy and contagious that Sasuke hadn't been able to resist smiling back. It was the first time he had ever smiled like that to anyone, and he had sworn to himself that it would be the last.

He retrieved his katana from a hidden compartment in his closet and strapped on a pair of shoes before leaving his room and climbing down the staircase. When he arrived in the throne room Sasuke noticed that Naruto was still talking to Itachi.

They both sent quick glances at him before ending their conversation.

"Oi, Sasuke! How come you took so long? Were you too busy fixing up your hair for me?" Naruto called out teasingly, playfully pulling at a strand of Sasuke's ebony hair as he neared him.

"Tch, hardly dobe. I actually went to the trouble of getting my stuff so we could have a decent match today. Then again, it is only you I'm fighting, so I can't expect much," he added with a smirk, pushing Naruto's tanned hand away from his head.

He hated it when people touched him. Well, usually, unless it was Naruto making contact with him, which made no sense at all and was deeply unsettling on Sasuke's part. Maybe it was because he was so used to his hits and punches.

He refused to think there was any other motive behind it.

"Teme, I can beat your ass without even breaking a sweat!" Naruto shot back with an angry look on his face, all traces of playfulness having vanished from his features.

"Not even in your dreams usuratonkachi," Sasuke almost scoffed, rolling his eyes at the blonde and turning toward the doorway. "Are you coming or have you decided that you're too scared to face me?"

"What? Of course not! I swear once we get started you're going to be sorry you said those things Sasuke," Naruto threatened snidely, stomping after him with a huff in an almost child-like manner. That had definitely done the trick.

They kept mostly quiet the entire path to the lake, saving most of what they had to say for when they were finished with their sparring session later. Of course, Sasuke actually did have something to talk about that day, and Naruto was really the only person that would listen to him when he complained about his life. Everyone else just thought he was a spoiled brat or too beautiful to take their eyes off of and actually listen to what he had to say.

However, Naruto was humming an obnoxious tune the entire way to the lake, and it took all of Sasuke's willpower and then some to resist the urge to club him on the head.

"If you don't shut up in two seconds I'm going to start our sparring match early, and this time I'm not going to go easy on you," Sasuke threatened lowly, glaring daggers into Naruto's oceanic eyes.

"Bring it on teme, 'cuz I'm not gonna go easy on you either!" Naruto retaliated in the usual competitive tone that his voice took on whenever he was around Sasuke. They were already at the lake anyway, so he dropped his bag and took a fighting stance, his tanned body practically glowing underneath the sun's rays compared to Sasuke's pale skin.

"Get ready to get your ass handed to you dobe." With that Sasuke unsheathed his katana and drove it forward in one swift, fluid movement, effectively catching Naruto off guard. He managed to doge Sasuke's attack at the last second by sharply turning his body to the left, and came back with an attack of his own, swinging a quick but powerful fist aimed at Sasuke's head.

Sasuke avoided the hit and swung his katana straight at him, not giving up even an inch of ground. They went on like this for quite a while, eventually tiring each other out before either of them could proclaim themselves the winner of the match.

This was usually the end result of their fights, much to Sasuke's chagrin. Even he had to admit that they were an even match, although he would never say this out loud while Naruto (or anyone else for that matter) was around.

He threw his weapon onto the lush green grass, a soft thumping sound coming from the ground as the katana made contact with it. He sat down in a shady area right next to it, stretching his legs out in front of him and placing his arms behind his head in a relaxed posture.

Naruto laid down beside him and let out a content sound. "I wish it could be like this every day," he sighed, smiling up brightly at the sky, "don't you, Sasuke?"

He raised an eyebrow and said,"You like getting yourself beat up by me?"

"No, I like days like this. When I can just hang with you and feel completely at ease." Sasuke had expected some form of retaliation from Naruto, so he was a bit taken aback by his serious answer and the fact that he had just ignored a comment like that from him. It was... weird. Even for Naruto, whose literal definition was weird.

"...Dobe," was all the raven answered, attempting to brush off Naruto's strange change of character.

But the blonde didn't take the clue, and he continued talking. "Do you think well still be friends after all of this? I mean, after you become king?"

Sasuke stared at him warily, not feeling like dealing with Naruto's strange way of thinking. "Are you talking about the ball tomorrow night? And even if I do choose a girl to marry, that doesn't mean I'm going to become king. Stop being an idiot Naruto, I swear, you're worse than an over-emotional school girl," he said firmly, rolling his eyes at the blonde.

"It doesn't? I-I mean, I knew that! But you will become king eventually if Itachi doesn't get married; and after tomorrow you'll have some annoying girl clinging to you and following you wherever you go. Once that happens we'll never be able to spar anymore." Naruto frowned slightly, the reality of his own words just then striking him.

"Relax Naruto, with the way people look at Itachi every time he steps foot outside the castle, he's eventually going to find someone that suits him, and then everything will go back to being normal. Well, mostly. You know that I can't do the same thing as him, who knows what my father is bound to do if he finds out there is a low likelihood that his blood will be passed down."

At this point, Sasuke didn't really know whether he was reassuring Naruto or himself. Even he could tell that his rationale was a little too far-fetched for any real hope. Still, it was practically all he had to go by.

"Huh, I suppose you're right then Sasuke. At least I'll be able to take comfort in knowing that you'll hate every second of your married life," Naruto grinned wryly, suddenly hiding away his previous attitude and going back to his old one.

Despite his attempts at subtlety, Sasuke caught on to Naruto's facade quickly. He'd known him for such a long time that he had learned to read every one of Naruto's emotions. Whether that was a good thing or bad he didn't know, but it sure came in handy sometimes.

"There something else bothering you, isn't there?" Sasuke said, watching Naruto's face closely, looking for more signs of suspiciousness.

Blue orbs avoided his stare and looked to the side, giving away nothing. "No, you cleared everything up earlier. I guess I'm just feeling a bit sulky about it, that's all." He fingered a blade of grass as he spoke, his extreme amount of energy already beginning to resurface despite their tiresome fight.

"Please dobe, your moodiness is really starting to freak me out here. I would even go so far as to say you were jealous of all those women," Sasuke taunted, tiring of his friend's mysterious attitude. One of the things he liked best about Naruto was that his emotions were always so easy to read. And right now he was being so vague and unclear that it was almost nerve-racking for the Uchiha. Almost.

"You wish, asshole. But you and I both know that you're really the only close friend I'll ever have because of the Kyuubi. I... I guess I should thank you for that, Sasuke. Now that your time with me is gonna be so limited and all." He sat up then, scooting over in a position that was too close for comfort in Sasuke's opinion.

Sasuke had expected Naruto to stop moving after he got comfortable, but instead he continued to get closer. "W-wait dobe, what are you doing!" Sasuke protested weakly when their bodies were almost touching, unable to do anything because he felt like he was being frozen in place.

Naruto awkwardly wrapped his arms around Sasuke's midsection in a hug, chuckling softly. "Relax teme, it's just a hug. Were you hoping for something better?"

Sasuke exhaled roughly, trying to pry away the blonde's arms but failing miserably in his weakened state. "Get off usuratonkachi," he muttered.

"Not 'til you hug me back," Naruto refused stubbornly, tightening his grip on the raven as a gesture that he was serious.

What an idiot. He understood what Naruto was feeling, but it was definitely not in his character to hug his rival like that. Sure, he was about the most friendly and outgoing person in the country, but that was hardly a cause for all these ridiculous sentiments. All of that aside, Sasuke could not bring himself to ignore the familiar heat radiating from Naruto's body, resurfacing both old and new emotions that he really didn't want to be feeling. He'd tried so hard to lock them away in a deep, forgotten part of his mind. He'd told himself that those emotions were just his imagination, but he was terrible at lying to himself. They were always there, just suppressed as much as he was able to suppress them.

Not wanting Naruto to begin to get suspicious Sasuke patted him once on the back before forcing himself out if his embrace. He grappled with Naruto for a bit before completely freeing himself, leaving them both resting on their knees facing each other. They held each other's gaze for a moment longer than they should have, Sasuke quickly standing up and moving away from Naruto as he realized this.

"Let's go back inside, I'm getting hungry," Sasuke said in a commanding tone, holding out his pale hand for Naruto to help himself up with.

He raised his eyebrow and took it, pouting slightly. "How about we go out to town to eat? You never let me eat ramen at your place because you say my slurping is vulgar and embarrassing," Naruto suggested.

So he wanted ramen, huh? Big surprise there. "Fine, whatever dobe, let's just hurry."

* * *

Naruto practically skipped along the road as he and Sasuke passed the numerous booths that contained delicious-looking foods, indulging in all the amazing aromas that wafted through the air. He hadn't really been hungry before Sasuke had suggested they eat, but now that they were here, ramen was all he could think about.

He stopped when they arrived at his favorite place: Ichiraku Ramen.

"Ne, Sasuke, are you gonna want ramen too or should I just grab it to-go?" He asked, already knowing what the raven's answer would be. Sasuke disliked ramen to put it lightly; he usually preferred rice balls or something similarly plain. It was something he had never been able to understand about him; who _didn't_ like ramen?

"I'd rather not eat that. Get your food and let's head to some other booth," Sasuke muttered, stuffing his hands into his front pockets and leaning against the front of booth. The wind picked up at that particular moment, blowing his silky black hair into his eyes and carrying his clean, familiar scent through the air. He actually looked kind of... beautiful.

Wait, what the actual fuck? Had he really just thought of Sasuke as beautiful?

Naruto hadn't noticed that he had been starting at the Uchiha the entire time, his head snapping up when Sasuke cleared his throat uncomfortably and asked if he had lost something.

"What? No! It's just..eh... your hair got in your eyes and I was wondering whether you would move it or not 'cuz it's kinda starting to bother me now," Naruto stuttered, fumbling for the right words to say. He quickly reached out his hand and brushed the loose strands of hair out of Sasuke's eyes, fingers tingling from the soft touch and smooth feel of the raven's forehead.

"You, uh.. have really soft skin Sasuke," he said after a while, still feeling the fleeting sensation of the brief touch on his fingertips.

"Baka."

"Teme."

"Dobe."

"Fuck you."

Naruto crossed his arms childishly and moved his head to the side, puffing out his cheeks as he exhaled sharply. Even when he complimented him Sasuke still found a way to ruin the mood by insulting him.

But he supposed it was just another reason to be grateful for having him as a friend. It was slowly starting to get better, but because the whole kingdom knew he held a fox demon inside of him they always shunned him in fear of the Kyuubi. Now that his parents weren't there to help keep his spirits up, the only people he had left were his guardian, Jiraiya, and Sasuke, which said a lot about how much Naruto appreciated him.

Sasuke had never been afraid of him, nor had he ever hesitated to tell him exactly what was on his mind. It was the same for Naruto. He knew that everyone was either in love with Sasuke or hated him out of jealously, there was no in between. He was the only exception, but lately his certainty about just how deep his bond with the Uchiha was had begun to waver. He wasn't sure what the hell it was that was wrong with him. A soft brush, an accidental touch here and there left his heart racing in a way it'd only raced for Sakura back when he'd been in love with her in grade school. Was he supposed to be left breathless when he stared into his dark onyx eyes? What was this feeling he had whenever he was alone with him?

"Naruto, I said your order's ready!" Teuchi shoved the container filled with ramen right in front of Naruto's face with an annoyed grumble. "What's up with you boy? I called you three times and you still wouldn't respond!" he frowned, taking in the blonde's confused expression and letting out a big sigh. "Typical Naruto, I guess."

"Oh, I'm sorry old man! I must've been daydreaming," Naruto finally said, taking the container in between both hands and looking as innocent as possible with a smallish grin and wide blue eyes.

He waved at the old shopkeeper and walked outside with Sasuke, his expression turning slightly embarrassed. "Why didn't you warn me teme? I looked like an idiot back there!" Naruto growled , turning to glare at his friend beside him.

"It wasn't my problem, and you already look like an idiot normally anyway," Sasuke shrugged, smirking slightly at his small quip.

He intensified his glare, pouting at Sasuke's cold reply. He might be his only friend, but that didn't mean Naruto had to take all of this name-calling. "Stop that, I have a name ya know," he said, purposely bumping into his side and causing him to get slightly off-balance, narrowly avoiding getting pushed into the back of a passerby.

The pissed off look on his face after he recovered was both scary and exciting at the same time. Sasuke was more fun when he was mad anyway.

"You're so getting it now Naruto." Sasuke shoved him roughly, seeking vengeance for his little trip-up and finding, to his delight, that karma was on his side as Naruto crashed into a nearby fruit stand.

He grunted as his body made contact with the wooden stand and knocked over several rolling fruits out onto the street. He immediately picked himself up and hopped away from the mess, barely avoiding the plate that the angry shopkeeper threw at him.

"Come back here you fox-demon!" the man yelled, shaking his fists as he chased after him.

He was definitely mad.

"Damn you Sasuke, now you have to run with me!" Naruto called out as he half-tackled, half-dragged the raven while he ran, smiling the whole time despite the situation they were in. These were the times he appreciated most, smiling was all he could do.

Once they were far away enough to know they were safe, Naruto stopped and rested a hand on his knee, breathing harshly in an attempt to lower his heart rate back to normal.

He wore a huge grin on his face, exhilaration coursing through his veins when he saw that the raven was smiling slightly as well. He didn't notice he still held onto Sasuke's wrist, and the Uchiha did nothing to warn him.

When he finally straightened up again, he felt his right palm was somewhat clammy, and realized it was linked to something as he went to move it. "Oh-h, my bad Sasuke. You should've said something," he mumbled, removing his tight grip on Sasuke's thin-but-muscular arm. He'd never noticed before, but the raven actually had a very fit and pleasing body figure, despite being naturally skinnier than he was.

"It'd be nice if you stopped ogling my arm and gave me some personal space too," Sasuke said, his brow raised as he spoke.

"S-Shut up teme, I wasn't ogling anything, especially not something that belongs to you," Naruto grumbled, stepping backwards only to catch his foot on a rock. Before he knew what was happening, he felt his body lurch forward, bringing Sasuke down with him and unceremoniously falling on top of him.

Naruto lifted his head up, afraid for what would ensue since Sasuke was known for being very violent if he got pissed off enough. Instead he was captured by the black eyes of his friend, his gaze so intense and filled with hidden feelings that it was hard to even think about looking away. Sasuke's face was directly below his, a couple of measly inches separating them from contact; while one leg was wound with Sasuke's right one and the other sat right in between the gap separating his legs.

Naruto became more aware of another part of his body in the lower regions when Sasuke moved slightly underneath him, causing some friction between them and a shiver to run down the blonde's spine. He blushed profusely at the sensation, the familiar pounding of his heart accompanying his sudden shortness of breath. What was happening with him? How long had it been since he'd begun feeling this way around Sasuke? And just what was the reason behind it?

"Sorr-" Naruto tried to pick himself up and apologize, but was cut short when he felt a feathery light touch on the small of his back.

Sasuke lifted his neck suddenly, closing the small gap between them rather roughly and pressing his lips against him almost... desperately. His hand moved up and found Naruto's hair, pulling down on it and encouraging him to return the ministrations currently being given to his frozen lips.

What. The. Fuck.

Naruto had no idea what was happening, much less the strength to resist and shove Sasuke off like he should have. In fact, his brain was so mixed up that he immediately responded to the raven's encouragement, returning the kiss that Sasuke had initiated.

He gasped when he felt teeth bite down on his lower lip, breaking away in shock, panting in Sasuke's face as he tried to make sense of things.

"What was that?" Naruto whispered lifting his chest off of Sasuke and holding himself up with one arm. He used the other to lightly ghost over his burning lips.

Now that the moment had passed, Sasuke seemed just as shocked as he felt by the way his face became flushed all of a sudden. Naruto couldn't help but think he looked cute and vulnerable when he blushed, something that wasn't really helping the situation right at the moment.

"I don't, I don't know," Sasuke said breathily, looking everywhere but the at the blonde that was still resting on top of him.

"Get up," Sasuke commanded, partially pushing him away while trying to lift himself up.

Naruto complied with saying a word, lifting his weight from his friend beneath him and standing awkwardly as Sasuke got back onto his feet as well.

"Sasuke I-"

"We are never to speak of this again, do you understand?" the Uchiha interrupted, his words cold and harsh; face completely emotionless.

This was bad.

His expression was set in the way he used with everyone but his family and Naruto. In fact, he had never looked at him like that. Not even on the first day they'd met. No, that day had been very different from this situation.

Instead of making him feel bad or even a little sad, this really angered Naruto. First if all, Sasuke had been the one to lean in and kiss him first; they wouldn't have been in this predicament if he had just let him move. And even when he had started kissing him, Naruto had been completely unresponsive until Sasuke started pulling on his hair and coaxing him to kiss back. So if anyone was supposed to be mad, it was him.

Maybe he hadn't completely hated it; maybe he had even enjoyed it a little. But you didn't go kissing someone just to get mad at them later for something _you_ started and expect the other to just drop it and refrain from asking questions.

"Do you really expect me to just let it go and pretend like this never happened? Sasuke, this is something serious that involves the both of us. I deserve an explanation at the very least, not the silent treatment."

Sasuke stared at him, his eyes hard and unrevealing. "I already told you I'm not saying anything. It's better for the both of us."

"Are you fucking serious? You're really gonna be a dick about something that wasn't even my fault in the first place? If anything, _I'm_ the victim here, not you!" Naruto' face had gone livid by then, unable to contain his emotions for much longer.

"Just shut up okay! You'll never understand anyway so just go back to your dirty hovel where nobody that actually loves you is waiting!" Sasuke yelled in a sudden outburst, completely losing his cool and getting in the blonde's face.

Naruto's face contorted from angry to deeply hurt, his blue eyes turning stormy as the Uchiha's sharp words sunk in. "You don't really mean that," he whispered, reaching out to grab ahold of Sasuke's wrist.

Naruto flinched when his hand was violently shoved away, forcing his whole body back a couple of feet.

"Don't! Don't touch me right now! You know perfectly that I meant every word; I don't want to see you, not ever. I don't want to see your face at the ball, you might force me to do something I really don't want to have to do," Sasuke exclaimed, his face turned away from Naruto as he spoke. "You were right, our friendship has been severed."

With that, he turned his whole body away and walked in the opposite direction from where they had come, not looking back even once as he entered the thick forest of trees.

* * *

Sasuke ran.

He ran harder than he'd ever run in his life.

Once he had been sure he was out of Naruto's view, he had begun sprinting, ignoring all the voices in his head and the poisoning thoughts that had taken over him only a little while ago while he had been with Naruto in the clearing.

But now as his body was beginning to tire out and the adrenaline was quickly fading away, it became much harder to contain himself and his thoughts.

He stopped when he arrived at a river he knew well; he'd been in this forest hunting with Itachi countless of times before and knew his way around well. But unlike those sunny days with his brother, the forest seemed foreboding and ominous, an equivalent to how he was feeling at the moment.

He crumpled to his knees on the riverbank and stared out at complete nothingness, barely managing to notice the sting in his eyes. Sasuke wiped the lone tear away before it could escape his lids, disgusted in himself. Why the hell did he want to cry? It was just Naruto, and he was just a friend. Easily replaceable.

Or at least he should have been.

But Sasuke was finished deluding himself. He knew he felt more for the blonde idiot, and he knew that Naruto felt the same way about him; or at the very least valued their friendship enough that he couldn't afford to risk hurting Sasuke's feelings by rejecting his advancements.

Not that it had mattered, in the end. Sasuke had freaked out back in the clearing, and he knew that he would hate himself for saying the things he did for the rest of his life. Of course he hadn't meant any of it, especially the part when he said he never wanted to see Naruto again. All he _wanted_ was to see him again, to be able to apologize and tell him how he really felt.

But now he was screwed because he had basically told Naruto to fuck off and judging by the look on his face, the blonde had taken his words to heart. Not only that, but his ball was being held tomorrow, and he had to choose a wife; there was no alternative. And now he felt even more worse about it. Because even before all of this had happened, Sasuke had known what his feelings were. In fact, he'd known he was in love with Naruto for a very long time now.

After his first meeting with him at the lake, he hadn't been able to get rid of the mental image he had of Naruto's smile. All his life he had been surrounded by weary eyes and unhappy faces. Almost everyone that lived in the castle had long since lost their sense of joy, even his father. But when Naruto had smiled at him, Sasuke had seen something in it that he had never witnessed before: True, genuine happiness so pure it had instantly penetrated his heart and made him want to smile with the same radiance and joy.

It haunted him like a plague, and soon enough he found himself obsessively searching for him at the age of seven. Often times people would give him strange looks and ask why he would be searching for the demon boy. He had no idea what they meant but he just shrugged it off and eventually came across Naruto's mother, who was absolutely thrilled to hear that her son had made a friend and eagerly rushed the young Uchiha to her house.

Naruto seemed a bit confused at first when he saw Sasuke patiently sitting in a chair, waiting for him. But by the time the day was over and they had played for countless hours (or rather Naruto played while trying to get Sasuke to participate in his wild games) Naruto didn't care anymore.

Ever since then they had been friends, and ever since that first day Sasuke had been in love with him. And it had only increased through the years, but the raven was quite stubborn and refused to acknowledge his feelings. It was _wrong_. He was a male, and so was Naruto; it could never happen. Not only that, but during their years together in school before Sasuke took up private homeschooling, he had learned that Naruto was in love with Sakura, a little pink haired girl that was one of his most obnoxious fangirls. What made it worse was that she was always rejecting Naruto in the harshest ways, only to turn around and flirt like her life depended on it with Sasuke.

He'd tried making it clear to her that he wasn't even remotely interested, but she was persistent, and even now she still chased after him listlessly.

Then again, he wasn't really in a position to judge her considering what he had just done to Naruto. In just one heated moment, Sasuke had lost hold of logic and had given into his desires; kissing Naruto in a way that was definitely more than friendly. The joy he had felt when Naruto began to kiss him back was unbelievable, and in all his exhilaration Sasuke had abandoned his mind and given into instinct, biting down on the delicious lips that were ravishing his. And then just like that the moment ended, and he became panicked. What had he done? He had just kissed his best friend while their bodies were tangled up together. How the hell could he have let that happen?

He hadn't even considered the consequences the kiss would bring, he'd just gone for it without any thought. The way Naruto had been looking at him, their hot, sweaty bodies pressed up against each other, the sun shining through the hair of the only person he had ever thought of in a romantic way had been too much on his already exhausted brain, and he was overcome by the desire to taste the lips that were sitting oh-so-tauntingly a few inches away from his own.

And now here he was, kneeling pathetically in front of the river wondering how he was going to cope with the loss of his only true friend.

* * *

The first thing Naruto did when he got home was throw the only vase he had in his room against the wall, watching it shatter to a million tiny pieces with tears streaming down his cheeks. He really hoped Jiraiya wasn't home yet; the old man was nosier than a bunch of girls huddled together in a schoolyard.

He didn't want anyone seeing him like this. The things Sasuke said... They had really cut deep. Somehow Naruto always ended up the victim even though nothing that happened was ever his fault. He hadn't chosen to be the host of the Kyuubi; and he also hadn't chosen to kiss Sasuke. Well not at first anyway. Yet he'd ended up losing his only friend and the chance to ever get to see him again.

After about an hour of painful thoughts and damaged feelings, he heard a loud knock on his door. "What do you want?" he called out from his crouched position on the edge of his bed.

"It's time for you to go to work!" Jiraiya called back, trying the handle once only to find that the door was locked. "Come on, Tsunade-san is waiting for you, and you know how she gets when you're late."

Naruto groaned into his arms, slowly picking himself up from the twin bed and checking his reflection in a small mirror near the back of his room.

To his surprise and relief, his eyes were no longer red and puffy, concealing the fact that he had been crying for a while and had only recently stopped. The pain was still unbelievable, but he was a bit of an expert at putting on fake smiles when the situation called for it. He definitely didn't want Tsunade to know about any of this, and she wouldn't as long as he kept on smiling and tried to forget about earlier.

He threw on his work clothes and rushed out of his room, bumping into his guardian when he didn't see him in all his haste.

"What were you doing in there all this time kid? I heard a loud breaking noise earlier and I think even some sniffling." Jiraiya looked thoughtful after finishing up his last statement, bringing a hand up to his chin while his mind was at work.

"Nothing. I'm a teenage boy you old perv, I need space sometimes, okay? Now I have to get going, see ya later." He made a cursory wave behind him as he dashed out of the front door, not bothering to stay behind and hear Jiraiya's response.

"That stupid kid. What the hell am I going to do with him?" He sighed, scratching his head full of white hair.

* * *

"Sorry I'm late baa-chan! I fell asleep and lost track of time," Naruto said as he entered his workplace, dreading the lecture he was sure to get as soon as Tsunade saw him.

"You lost track of time my ass! I already told you I don't care for excuses Naruto. Next time I'll force you to work a double shift!" the voluptuous woman threatened as he took his post where the washboards were.

Tsunade was the owner of a small tailor shop in the center of town. She had inherited it from her grandfather, who had died a while ago while fighting for their country. She had two other assistants: Hyuga Neji and Hyuga Hinata. They were cousins, and Neji had always been very protective of Hinata.

Naruto's job in the shop mostly consisted of washing and drying the clothes that customers brought in; but sometimes when demand was high he would go with Tsunade to present people with the outfits they had made.

Neji and Hinata took care of most of the delicate procedures like sewing small pieces of lace or gems onto an article of clothing because they were both very deft with their fingers; unlike Naruto, who couldn't even sew two pieces of cloth together without it falling apart every two seconds.

That day business was being a little slow, so Tsunade allowed them to relax in their work as long as they finished. However, this proved to be a very bad thing when she took a good long look at his face and said,"You've been crying haven't you."

Naruto all but dropped the wet clothes that were in his hands at her statement, his eyes going wide. "N-No, of course not!" he protested vehemently, making himself look as clueless as possible.

"Shut up kid. Who do you think you're fooling? You've been staring out the window with the look of a kicked dog ever since you walked in here, and your cheeks are still tear-streaked," she said in annoyance, bringing the attention of his two co-workers, which was just about the worst thing that could happen to him at the moment.

"Oh no, why were you crying Naruto-kun? Did somebody hurt you?" Hinata asked worriedly, her expression so concerned that it almost made him feel bad for making her worry.

"Seriously Naruto? I thought you were stronger than that," Neji said, shaking his head.

"Look, even if I was crying, it wasn't for a reason that's worth talking about," he tried explaining, wringing out the shirt he had been washing and pinning it up to dry.

"Nonsense. If you'd prefer, we could talk about this in private. The day's been slow anyway, I was already thinking about closing up the shop anyway. I'm gonna need some time to finish up all those gown orders for the prince's ball tomorrow," Tsunade said, patting Naruto on the back once in what he guessed was her idea of a consoling gesture.

"No you don't really-"

"I'm closing up, and I need your help, both today and tomorrow. So you're either coming with me to the back workshop or I beat the living hell out of you right here. Your choice," Tsunade cut him off sharply, yanking him harshly by the ear and shoving him into the hallway with more strength than a woman (or even a man for that matter) should've had.

"You guys are free to go ahead and leave, I'll see you early tomorrow morning," she said, turning to the two cousins who were currently trying their hardest not to burst out laughing.

"Yes ma'am. At 6:00 A.M. sharp," Hinata nodded, waving as she and Neji exited the tailor shop, sending one final concerned glance at Naruto before shutting the door behind her.

"Okay, now tell me everything Naruto. It may not seem like it, but I do genuinely care about you. Otherwise I never would have hired you and you would still be out there knocking on store windows practically begging for a job. You're parents were good friends of mine, and I've known Jiraiya since I was a little girl. You're almost like family. Almost. You're still an annoying little brat though."

Naruto couldn't help but smile at that, grimacing when Tsunade punched him on the arm playfully. It hurt a lot more than she had intended it to, but then again, that's how it always was with her. And he guessed that she really was like family to him, in a way. He liked to think of her as his really violent grandmother who somehow managed to look much younger than she really was.

But that didn't mean he was exactly eager to talk to her about his argument with Sasuke. It would kind of be like confessing he was into guys, which really hadn't been the case until Sasuke had come along. He was more like the only exception, and now that exception had gone out and hurt him (most likely beyond repair).

"I-I don't know baa-chan. I want to tell you, but at the same time I don't."

"Oh I suggest you do, unless you want to return to Jiraiya with a black eye and a broken jawbone," she warned, snatching up a pair of scissors and cutting a piece of red silk she was using to make a dress.

Tsunade and scissors was already enough to scare the living shit out of him, but an _angry_ Tsunade holding a pair of very sharp-looking scissors was downright terrifying.

"No! I-I mean, I'll tell you, just please don't stab me with those," Naruto exclaimed nervously, holding his hands out in front of him.

"Don't tempt me," she muttered, making a lot of scary snipping noises as she worked on the fabric.

He gulped loudly and tried (but failed) to clear his throat, moving on to shakily tell her all the things that had happened that day with Sasuke.

By the time he had finished explaining everything to her and answering all of her questions, he actually felt a small load being lifted off of him. It felt good to be able to talk about how he felt, even if it had been a little forced and his sole listener had turned out to be quite the inquirer.

After that they spent a few minutes in silence, the sound of scissors on fabric the only audible thing in the room.

"You still love him," Tsunade finally said, setting her scissors down on the wooden table but keeping her gaze lowered as she spoke.

"What?"

"You're still in love with the prince, in spite of what he did to you. I could tell by the way you spoke about him in your story, and the way your eyes sparkled with life while you did," she insisted, still keeping her eyes glued to the table.

Naruto was completely taken aback by the firmness in her voice and the certainty that it carried. First of all, he'd never told her that he was exactly in _love_ with Sasuke; he'd only said that he'd harbored some strange feelings for him. And secondly, how could she be so sure about how he felt if he wasn't even certain himself? Was he really that easy to read?

"I don't know what you're trying to hint at," he said, body tensing forward. "Could you please tell me what you're plotting right now? I know that sinister look on your face."

"Hmph, and here I thought you were completely clueless," Tsunade muttered, a small smile tugging at her lips.

"Yeah well lately everybody's been having a lot of misconceptions about me," Naruto replied lowly.

"Stop it kid, you know I was just messing with you. Anyway, if you're really serious about this guy then I think I have an idea that can help you see him at least one more time. But you have to follow my instructions exactly, or else it won't work."

* * *

The next morning Sasuke awoke in his plush bed, a wailing trumpet shocking him out of his slumber.

"Good morning my son. Today is the day the whole kingdom has been waiting for: the ball being held in your honor."

His father stood fully-clothed in his royal robes along with his mother, Itachi, and a squire holding a golden trumpet.

"Congratulations Sasuke, today's your big day! I'm so excited for you!" Mikoto, his mother, cried, throwing her arms around his neck and coaxing him to stand up from his bed.

When he finally got her to let go, Itachi slowly walked up to him until he was close enough to rest his hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "I hope you know what you're doing when you choose, little brother," he said into his ear, giving his forehead a quick tap before returning to his father's side.

Sasuke didn't have time to reflect on what he'd said because his father had chosen that moment to begin lecturing him about the responsibilities of being a king, and much, much more. Once he was finished, he gave Sasuke the first hug he had ever given him in his life. Granted it had been very stiff and brief, but a hug all the same. It almost made him feel loved again. But then the memory of yesterday came hurtling back, and all that he felt was a hollow emptiness echoing inside of him.

The rest of the morning went by chaotically fast; with servants and maids running everywhere setting up tables, polishing the dance hall and making last minute adjustments to Sasuke's suit.

He had been searching for Itachi the entire time, but he had yet to find him and it would become doubly hard as the day progressed because of all the frantic preparations. Sasuke had no idea so many people were working under his father at the castle. Hell, he had no idea so many people even lived in his entire _kingdom_.

After about half an hour of fruitless searching, he finally came across his mother, who was in the process of picking what silverware she liked best.

"Mom, you wouldn't happen to know where Itachi is, would you?" he asked hopefully.

"No I don't Sasuke. You could try his room, but I doubt he's in there unless the maids are fitting him into his suit right now," she said.

"Damn," he said under his breath,"if you see him can you tell him that I've been looking for him?"

"Of course honey."

After that he still had zero success in finding his brother, so he gave up and decided to return to his room. The balcony was the only place he felt like being at right now, so he opened the door that led him outside. He leaned over the railings and started out into the wilderness, trying his best to forget about Naruto. But his best obviously wasn't enough because the only thing he _could_ think about was Naruto.

His smiling face, his goofy antics, the way he treated him like an actual person and not some revered god like most people did. Their fights, the way they always tried to one up each other no matter how small and meaningless the situation, and the way his tan skin glowed underneath the sun, his blonde hair and blue eyes complimenting the look to make it undeniably hot.

And now he would never see him again.

* * *

"Ow, you stuck me with that pin again!" the angry voice of Ino carried across the room.

"Sorry! I am so sorry! It's just that I'm kinda new at this and-"

"I don't care, just quit stabbing me with those pins," she frowned, rubbing at a spot he had punctured on her waist.

Naruto had no idea what he was doing, but Tsunade had insisted that it was the best way to execute her plot.

Her plan consisted of three parts, and the first part had involved his payment for her help. He was to go with her to every customer's home and help her add the finishing touches and last minute fixes to their gowns, which was tough considering he had no experience in that area whatsoever.

His first few tries had been catastrophic, and Tsunade had to take over each time just so the clothes wouldn't be ruined. By now he could at least adjust the tightness of the fabric, but that was pretty much it.

They were currently in the Yamanaka household, and by coincidence Sakura was there too because she and Ino had agreed to help each other get ready for the ball. He was working on Ino's dress, while Tsunade had agreed to do Saskura's.

"So, it's kind of like a reunion isn't it?" Naruto said as he sewed, trying his best to strike up a conversation with the irritable girl.

"It's just you, me, and Sakura," Ino scoffed, brushing her bangs out of her eyes and shifting her weight as she grew tired of standing so still.

"Yeah, still feels like I haven't seen you two in a while though."

"I guess... School let out a month and a half ago though Naruto. And everyone's going to Sasuke-kun's ball, so that'll be much more like a reunion than this," she pointed out. "Speaking of which, are _you_ going to the ball? You and Sasuke-kun are good friends aren't you?" She looked at him expectantly with her powder-blue eyes and raised eyebrows.

"Uhm, yeah. Friends. Right," he stammered, lowering his gaze and finding a sudden interest in the needle he was using to sew.

She gave him a weird look before launching into a long speech about how he was so lucky to be friends with the amazingly hot prince, and that she would do anything to be in his position, etc.

Once he was finished he stood from his crouched position and wiped his brow, admiring his work as Ino happily spun around in her lavender dress. It was a beautiful piece of work that could only have been made by Tsunade herself, who was a master at the art of sewing. The fabric was slightly shimmery from the waist down, while the corset had an amazing array of crystals arranged in a neat pattern; the top having an added touch of soft, white lace that complimented the look.

"I absolutely love it! With this, Sasuke-kun's sure to notice me!" Ino squealed with joy, hugging Naruto once before going back to admire herself in the mirror.

"Yeah, great job Naruto! Her dress is almost as marvelous as mine," Sakura remarked from the door, apparently having heard what the were saying.

Her dress was a nice amber with a light design that was just barley noticeable. It was pretty simple, but somehow Tsunade had made it look beautiful all the same. And sure, Sakura looked pretty good all decked out in her gown, but he saw nothing special in her in her features. He didn't even know how he had ever had such a huge crush on her in the first place. There was nothing particularity beautiful about her; and her personality definitely could use some improvement. She could be a good friend at times, but mostly she wasted her time pining after someone that would never return her feelings, and had completely ignored him when he had been right there ready to do almost anything for her. Naruto was glad he had opened his eyes at last and realized she wasn't worth half the amount of effort he put into winning her over.

There was somebody out there that was much more to his tastes, and he would get to see him again if everything went right. Hopefully he wouldn't be found out and kicked out of the palace.

"Thanks Sakura-chan! You look great, I'm sure Sasuke is in for a pleasant surprise when he lays eyes on the both of you," Naruto said, smiling politely at her. They had been close friends at one point in time, but that connection had long since dissipated when Sasuke had left school to be tutored privately at home. Now whenever he happened to run into her they would awkwardly greet each other and walk in the other direction, never really bothering to catch up or make a conversation.

"Oh, I hope you're right!" she said, clasping her hands together. The brightness in her eyes was almost laughable. Naruto knew that Sasuke would never pay attention to Sakura in that way if he was in his right mind; he hated his fangirls with vehemence and would probably go through great lengths to avoid them during the ball. Besides, he would be busy with someone else for most of the night.

"Well if it's my dress you're wearing than it best do some attracting," another voice said from behind Sakura. Tsunade came through the doorway a second later, smiling as she looked the two girls over.

"It's time for us to go Naruto. It's already late afternoon and we have to execute the second stage now," she said, gesturing at the front door.

"Second stage?" Sakura asked curiously, looking back and forth between the two.

"Oh, uh, she means the second stage of my work today. I have to go back to the shop and wash clothes," Naruto lied though his teeth, flashing a fake grin as he gathered up his things.

"Oh, sounds.. fun," she said, looking like she didn't quite believe him but not really having another choice.

"Yeah. See you around guys," Naruto waved, wanting to leave as soon as possible.

"W-Wait Naruto!" Sakura rushed at him and grabbed his arm, her grip vice-like.

"Please, don't go to the ball."

It took a while for Naruto to grasp what Sakura had said, but when he did, his expression was bewildered. "What?" he asked.

"I don't want you to go to the ball. I know, it sounds stupid and selfish, but if you go Sasuke's never going to pay any attention to us. Every time you're around the only one he ever wants to talk to is you; he doesn't even notice that I exist while you're there. It's not fair Naruto; not for him or for me. If you go I doubt he'll choose a wife, and then he'll never get to be king. If you don't want to do this for me, at least do it for him." She was desperate, he could see it in the way her eyes were glistening, hear it in her trembling voice.

All he could feel was irritation.

Irritation at himself, for ever having wanted such a shallow girl; and irritation at Sakura for being so selfish as to ask such a thing. How could she ever expect him to stay away from his best friend just because she wasn't satisfied with the amount of attention she received from Sasuke?

"I'm sorry Sakura, but I'm not going to miss out on the biggest night of my best friend's life just because you can't take the fact that he's not interested in you," Naruto's voice was clipped and impassive, not sorry at all for what he had said.

"W-What? But you... You have to!" She became angry as she realized he had just denied her something. He had never done that to her before, she knew how he felt about her and how to use it in her favor; but now she was in for a rude awakening.

"Look, I don't want to have to say anything worse okay! I'm leaving, and I don't want to hear any more requests from you," Naruto said right back, yanking his arm away and exiting the house without looking back at Sakura's livid expression.

"What was that all about?" Tsunade asked as they walked down the cobblestone street.

"Just me realizing what a blind idiot I've been," Naruto answered simply.

* * *

Once they arrived at the tailor store, Tsunade flipped the sign that read "Open" and drew all the curtains, rushing him inside to the back.

"Wait, what are we doing? You never told me the whole part of the second stage in your plan," Naruto reminded her, struggling to keep himself balanced as she pushed him along.

"I'm about to show you," she said, stopping abruptly in front of a small metal cabinet with a lock on it. She procured the key from her bra, chuckling at the face Naruto made while he watched her. "Well this is just about the only place I was sure you'd never find it so why the hell not? Don't be so immature kid," she smirked, jamming the key in the keyhole and opening the drawer.

There was an assortment of different items inside: a couple of expensive-looking bottles of sake, a golden ring with a beautiful sapphire adorning the top, several old envelopes, and a suit.

"How is any of this stuff gonna help me sneak into the palace?" he asked, dumbfounded.

"This costume and mask will. Did you forget that it's a masquerade ball? The prince decreed that he didn't care what his future bride looked like; there were certain personality traits he was looking for," Tsunade said as if this shouldn't have been news to him.

But it was, and now he felt a mixture of joy and annoyance for not having paid enough attention when details of the ball had been released to the villagers.

He watched in silent awe as she pulled out the formal clothing. It was amazing. The pants were made of the softest looking fabric he'd ever laid eyes on, and he looked up to find that the shirt and overcoat were made of similar material. The whole thing was royal blue with added gold going down the side of each pant leg and on the shoulders of his jacket. The buttons were gold too, and he noticed the mask that had been previously hidden underneath the clothes while it was inside the cabinet. It too was cleverly crafted, swirls of blue, gold, and orange giving it a unique touch that only Tsunade herself was capable of.

"Is that for me?" Naruto asked slowly, resisting the temptation to reach out and run his hand across the fabric.

"No it's for me. Of course it is baka," Tsunade said sarcastically, shoving the outfit into his arms and making an annoyed sound.

"I've been working on that for months; when I heard about the ball I figured that old coot Jiraiya wouldn't have the money to buy you something nice to wear. And by the way you were always talking about the prince I knew you would want to go, so I worked secretly on it during the nighttime," she elucidated, closing the cabinet and locking it again with her key.

Naruto was at a loss for words. To think that she would have spent so much time making something for _him_; well it was shocking to say the least. People never did nice things for him. It just didn't happen in his world, and it was something he had come come to terms with a long time ago. Yet here he was, standing in the back of an old family-friend's shop, staring at something that had been painstakingly sewed for him over a long period of time. It was enough to cause him to tear up and give a giant bear hug to the woman in front of him.

"Thank you so much baa-chan, you have no idea how grateful I am for this. You really are like family," Naruto said into her shoulder, hugging her even tighter.

She hugged him back )if somewhat hesitantly) and let him hold her for a minute before pulling away. "Don't worry about it; you are Minato and Kushina's son after all. If our situations were reversed I'm sure they'd do the same for my kid," she said, ruffling Naruto's golden locks with a nostalgic smile on her face. "Your father used to call me the same thing you do when he was younger, and back then it used to really piss me off. I eventually got used to it, and when you first came knocking on my door asking for work years after your parents' death calling me by that same nickname, I almost burst into tears right on the porch steps. Your appearance reminds me so much of Minato, but there's a liveliness in you that came from your mother and you became an amazing combination of two people I was truly fond of. How could I _not_ make an effort to bring some small piece of happiness into your life? You may be an annoying little brat, but you're still so much like a grandson to me." Tsunade's eyes had become misty throughout her long speech, her facial muscles contorted in an effort to contain her tears.

"Oh baa-chan," Naruto sniffled, wiping his nose on his sleeve before moving in for another hug.

"No more hugs Naruto, I don't want to cry right now. There are better times for that. Now get going and put this on. Make sure to never take your mask off for any reason at all, I don't want to have to be responsible for getting you punished. After you change I've made arrangements for a carriage to pick you up from your house; the chauffeur will take you to and from the ball, but you only have until midnight before he has to leave. I suggest you spend your time wisely," Tsunade said carefully, gently squeezing his arm before urging him to leave the store.

"See ya later baa-chan, and thanks again!" Naruto called as he left, waving at the busty woman.

He had to admit, she had really been thorough about with all of the preparations. She'd even thought of getting him transportation, which was something that had completely slipped his mind in the midst of all this drama. The only thing that worried him was the time limit. He wouldn't be able to stay at the ball for very long, and he wasn't sure that he'd been given enough time so that he could approach Sasuke without making it too obvious that he was himself.

Once he entered through the doorway and closed the door behind him, Naruto quickly got to changing clothes and putting on his mask, going back to his small mirror to make the necessary adjustments on it. When he was finally satisfied with the way it looked Naruto stepped back and studied his entire figure in the mirror, smiling when he saw just what a wonderful job Tsunade had done. The clothes fit him perfectly, clinging to all the right place and making him sure to stand out in the crowd during the ball.

He was busy attempting to comb his hair when he heard horse hooves and the street stopping right outside his home. He immediately straightened up and threw the comb aside, slamming the door to his room open and sprinting out of the house.

The carriage waiting for him outside wasn't very grand, but it would definitely do. It was pulled by several brown horses and a single man at the front who wore a pony tail and black coattails.

"Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked curiously, peering at the man from the front of the carriage.

"N-Naruto! Heh, I didn't know you would be the person that I'm going to be taking to the palace!" Iruka remarked with a surprised look on his face.

"Is this like your side-job or something?" he inquired, giving Iruka a suspicious look.

"Uh... I guess you could say that. But I mainly focus on my career as a teacher, as you already know. This is more like a summer thing," he explained, scratching the side of his scarred nose.

"Okay then... It's nice to see you again Iruka-sensei," Naruto said, patting the older man on the shoulder and boarding the coach.

"You all set?" Iruka's voice came from outside. Naruto rapped on the door of the carriage as a response, leaning his head back and settling in for the ride.

"Nice clothes by the way," the teacher complimented before snapping the reins and leading the carriage away. Naruto smiled at the comment and pulled his mask down from the top of his head so that it would cover his face.

"Thanks," he whispered so he was the only one that heard,"I hope you think so too Sasuke."

The ride from his house to the palace wasn't very long since he lived nearby, so he arrived in a matter of minutes. The entire front of the palace was packed with horse-driven carriages and people dressed in their finest.

It seemed like all of Konoha was there; and Naruto was pretty sure he wasn't too far from the truth. The ball was one of the few royal occasions where anyone in the kingdom was free to attend. This was mostly in order to create as diverse of a selection for the prince as possible. Naruto was pretty sure that Sasuke's father did not want his son to choose somebody of lower rank than them and would have preferred to make the ball exclusive to nobles, but the rules had been established far before he had come into power and his hands were tied on the matter.

Naruto found that his palms were sweating when he first attempted to open the carriage door when his fingers slipped right off the handle. "Shit," he grunted, wiping them on his pant legs and trying again. This time it opened with a soft click and he jumped off the vehicle, landing on both feet.

"Thanks a lot Iruka-sensei!" he said, clapping the older man once on the shoulder before heading off toward the palace steps.

"No problem Naruto! Remember, I'll be back at midnight!" Iruka waved, cupping his mouth to make his voice carry over the sound of people talking excitedly.

Only about half the people he spotted were wearing masks, and most of them were probably men by the looks of it. It was optional whether you wanted to wear a mask or not, but most of the female population seemingly preferred to have their faces seen by the prince of their dreams.

Naruto didn't really blame them for wanting Sasuke, after all, wasn't that the reason he had ignored the Uchiha's warning and decided to come anyway? Of course, he was the only person that could truthfully say his reason for loving Sasuke went beyond looks; in fact he only considered that to be a really nice perk. The raven was the most amazing person Naruto had ever met in every way, and that was why he felt the way he did. But he could never be sure whether his feelings were reciprocated, now that Sasuke had declared to him that he never wanted to see him again.

He had to take advantage of this last meeting, and Naruto already had a plan in mind that would require him to be more forwards than he would've liked. Never the less, Naruto's social skills had never failed him before, and he had the advantage that Sasuke really seemed to like something about him.

He let out the breath he hadn't known he'd been holding in as he climbed the final step, peering into the large open doorway flooded with light and the sounds of music and laughing. It sounded like everyone was already having a blast, and the party had just begun.

As Naruto walked inside he was immediately greeted by a servant that seemed familiar; but then again he _had_ been here countless times before. He nodded his head in greeting and wandered over to one of the many tables packed with every food he could possibly think of.

Wow.

Naruto was officially in heaven. He couldn't resist grabbing a plate and piling on as much food as he could, wolfing down the entire thing in matter of minutes. The only thing that was missing was ramen; but Naruto wasn't surprised. Sasuke _hated_ ramen, he had probably told his father not to serve any at the ball.

"You should really sit down Hinata, you're starting to look a little pale," a familiar male voice said a little ways in front if him. Naruto strained his neck too look and saw Neji fawning over a sick-looking Hinata. They were at the table adjacent to his, and he drifted over to them without thinking.

"Is something wrong Hinata?" Naruto said as he walked up to them, forgetting that he was currently wearing a mask and they wouldn't recognize him right away.

"Excuse me, do we know you?" Neji asked a little rudely, moving his worried gaze from his cousin to glare up at him.

"O-Oh, sorry about that, it's me, Naruto," the blonde chuckled nervously, holding his hands up innocently.

"Hmph, I should've figured. Why are you wearing a mask anyway? I think you of all people would want to be showing their face around," Neji commented with a quirk of his eyebrow.

"Don't hound him Neji, I'm sure Naruto-kun's got his reasons," Hinata spoke up meekly from her seat in a chair, bringing both boys' attention back to her.

"Ah, Hinata! Are you feeling okay? You seem like you're about ready to hurl," Naruto interjected worriedly, placing his hand on her forehead to check for a fever. Her skin was unnaturally hot to the touch; she was definitely not well. "I think you have a fever."

Neji darted to her side and checked as well, his brow furrowing when he felt the heat on his palm. "I think for once Naruto's right," he muttered.

"H-Hey!"

"We need to get you home. Now," he said sternly, draping her arm on top of his shoulder and helping her up.

Naruto felt kind of useless just standing there, so he offered to take Hinata's other arm.

"No it's fine. I'll take care of it, you go ahead and enjoy the dancing," Neji commanded.

"But..."

"No, he's right Naruto-kun. You should go have some fun, I'd hate to ruin your night like this when you just arrived," Hinata reassured him, smiling weakly and nodding her head in the direction of the crowd of dancers. "Sasuke-kun is somewhere over there; he's surrounded by a hoard of girls that are waiting for a turn to dance with him."

Naruto's gaze flickered over to where she had gestured. Sure enough, it was relatively easy to spot the Uchiha and the any women that surrounded him.

"Well okay, I guess Neji's got everything under control. I'll see you guys at work," he said hesitantly, sending each of them a small smile.

"Definitely," Hinata agreed.

With that, Naruto decided to go to the area where people were watching the dance, probably waiting for the song to be over so they could join in on the next one. There weren't really any people he recognized there, and he didn't know whether that was a good thing or a bad thing.

Sasuke was currently dancing with a girl wearing a dress that looked strangely familiar, and when Naruto got a better look at her he realized it was Sakura. She was smiling widely and seemingly chattering away; while on the other hand, Sasuke seemed like he wanted nothing more than for the music to end so he could move on to a different person that wasn't quite so annoying. This actually made Naruto smirk to himself. He knew no matter how hard she tried Sakura could never get the prince to like her; not even as a friend. The only one that _had_ been able to accomplish that task was himself, and it certainly hadn't been very easy.

The raven looked about ready to tape her mouth shut when the song finally ended. He quickly let go of her hands and bowed stiffly, his mouth set in an impassive line as he thanked her for the dance. Sakura curtsied and thanked him back, but before he could walk away she grabbed his hand again and said something to him. By the way the Uchiha's face twisted sourly over her shoulder, Naruto guessed she had asked him to dance again or something along those lines.

Sasuke seemed torn between not wanting to seem impolite and at the same time not caring; and as Naruto saw it, there was only one way to solve this issue. He'd have to take matters into his own hands.

He turned on his heel and headed in the direction of his friend, determined to see his plan through until the end. After all, he hadn't come all this way just to stand there and watch his best friend dance with other women.

* * *

"Excuse me Prince Sasuke, I was wondering if you'd give me the honor of having this dance?" a voice interrupted from behind him, effectively cutting off the pink-haired girl's plea to dance with him.

Sasuke turned around to find that it was a man who had asked him, but from his build and the way he was dressed, he guessed the guy couldn't have been much older than him. Still, it was kind of disturbing to have another guy actually ask him to dance; especially in front of another person. But then Sasuke remembered just who the other person asking him for a dance was, and suddenly the prospect of dancing with the guy didn't seem quite so disturbing anymore.

The only way to describe his previous exchange with Sakura was 'miserable'. To be more precise, that was pretty much the way to describe _every_ form of contact he'd ever had with her. Her infatuation with him was something he found quite irritating. He'd always loathed fangirls; and the fact that he had already been feeling absolutely miserable before the ball had started didn't help in the least.

He gave the masked man one long look before nodding his head. "Alright, I'll dance with you, but just this once."

Sasuke couldn't gauge what the man's reaction was because of the mask that he was wearing, but then again, that was probably more of a good thing than a bad. At least he would never end up knowing what he looked like so it wouldn't haunt him.

The half-shocked, half-angry look that appeared on Sakura's face shortly after he accepted the man's offer was enough to make him significantly grateful to himself for having said yes.

"W-Wait, I asked Sasuke-kun first so I'm going to be the one dancing with him!" she protested, blocking the guy's way by standing right in front of Sasuke.

"Look lady, I don't remember the prince accepting _your_ offer to dance, so it'd be great if you moved aside and gave us some space," the man said, his voice sounding like he was not the type of person to tolerate being told off.

Who did that remind him of?

Sasuke didn't have time to figure that part out because before he knew it the mysterious man had pulled him right up against his shoulder by his wrist. The raven barely had time to register that the music had already started up again when he was being lead in a slow waltz, a tan hand reaching out to grab his waist while the other slipped from his wrist to his hand.

"W-What-"

"Hey I really like this song! I only saw you dance to one song so I'm not sure if you're very good at it. Are you?" the man asked pleasantly, gently guiding the raven's body along the dance floor.

"Um, yeah, I guess I am," Sasuke responded, a bit on the bewildered side. There was something about the way the guy talked that seemed strangely familiar.

"We'll see about that."

At that moment Sasuke realized he was actually allowing someone else to lead him, when it should've been the other way around, regardless of who the person was.

The song picked up then, and Sasuke snatched the man's hand from his waist and held onto it firmly, fighting back in order to gain control of their movement. But he soon discovered that the man was just as determined, keeping up with the Uchiha's every step. Throughout the entire song they found themselves struggling for the lead, and by the time it was over Sasuke noticed that he had begun to smile at one point.

What the hell? No one but his family and Naruto ever made him smile. Come to think of it, no one but Naruto ever challenged him with this much conviction. Then reality came to slap Sasuke in the face. Of course this man wasn't Naruto; just yesterday Sasuke had deeply insulted him and demanded that he never see him again.

But when the man asked if he would like to dance again, he couldn't bring himself to say no, and before Sasuke knew it he had neglected everyone else and spent his time talking and dancing with the strange man. But of course, this didn't last for very long when two familiar girls approached them at a food table.

"Good evening prince," Sakura and Ino greeted at the same time, each of them forcing smiles as they said this.

"Good evening," Sasuke said back a little warily. He could already guess their reason for coming over to bother him, and it wasn't good.

"We came over here to ask you why you were spending so much time with this man instead of any of the women that you're supposed to make your bride tonight?" Sakura asked with fake politeness, sending a fearsome glare in the direction of the masked man.

"Pardon me, but I don't think that matter should be of any concern to either of you. It's up to me to choose whom I want to spend time with right now, and this man just so happens to be that particular person," Sasuke replied with an equally fake charade of politeness.

"I'm sorry to contradict you Sasuke-kun, but this is in fact a concern of mine because I didn't just come here to be completely ignored by the man if my dreams. The amount of attention you're giving that shady character isn't fair to any of us women hoping to court you," she said right back without batting an eyelash, refusing to let herself go by completely unnoticed by him.

"If you don't like it then leave. I'm not here to please you or anybody else. I happen to enjoy this man's company much more than any of yours; it's as simple as that," he said coldly. She was really starting to test his patience, and by the direction this conversation was going Sasuke knew it wasn't going to end well.

Sakura opened her mouth and then closed it several times, her determined expression faltering when his cold words hit her hard. But then her features turned very angry all of a sudden, and she turned to the masked man.

"You, this is all your fault!" she practically screeched, bringing her fist dangerously close to his face.

Sasuke looked around warily when he realized she had started a commotion. Many guests had already turned back to stare at the pissed off girl and someone even called out,"Yeah, hit him!"

He made sure to send his best death glare in the general direction of the scream, and sure enough he heard nothing more from the mouth of whoever it had been.

"Either calm yourself down or leave right now," Sasuke hissed at her, trying his best to prevent her from causing any more trouble.

"You expect me to calm down when someone like him is around? He's stealing all the attention away from me-"

"Sakura listen to yourself! You just talked back to the prince!" Ino interrupted loudly, clamping her hand onto her friend's shoulder with a concerned look.

Sakura quickly shoved the hand away and said,"If this is what it takes to get Sasuke's attention, then I'll gladly carry on with it. But I can't allow him to continue to talk to this stupid masked stranger! For all you know Sasuke-kun, he could be some old pervert with nothing better to do than stalk you!" she cried indignantly, her eyes going wild at that moment.

The man didn't have time to react before she reached for him and violently ripped off his mask, throwing it on the floor.

* * *

All Naruto heard was the clacking noise of his mask falling to the ground and the loud bells that indicated it was already midnight.

The three people he knew stared at him in immense shock, but no one's expression was more obvious than Sasuke's.

No, no, no, no! This wasn't how things were supposed to end! He'd promised both himself and Tsunade that he wouldn't let his mask come off his face during the entire time he was at the ball; yet there he stood, completely frozen in shock and horror. What would Sasuke think of him now?

"It was you all along, Naruto?" Sakura's voice acted like an electrical trigger to his brain, effectively snapping him out his trance and allowing logic to take over.

Before he could hear Sasuke say anything he made a run for the door, his feet almost slipping over the smooth texture of the ballroom floor.

He could see Iruka's carriage waiting for him just in front of the steps to the palace and aimed to run towards it, but his plans were quickly foiled when he heard the distinct sound of footsteps behind him.

He was being chased.

Without stopping, Naruto turned his head over his shoulder to find that it was Sasuke who was chasing him.

"Wait! Naruto stop running!" He called out with the most desperate look on his face Naruto had ever seen on him. The moonlight reflected against his ebony eyes as they began to water; Sasuke's face contorted with such desperate need it made Naruto want to tear his very heart from his chest.

Seeing this had made him lose his concentration for one short second, but it had been enough for Naruto's foot to get caught on one of the steps, his left shoe coming off in the process. He managed to stop himself from falling flat on his face, but he could feel his will to continue running weaken significantly because of what he'd just witnessed.

Never had Naruto ever seen Sasuke cry; not even when they were children. And there he was, running away from the only person he'd ever called his friend while he cried because of him.

"Please, hear me out! I'm not mad at you; in fact it's quite the opposite. I need you to listen to me Naruto!" Sasuke continued to plead from behind him, his voice thick with emotion.

Before he could regret it, Naruto complied and stopped dead in his tracks, although he didn't turn around to face the Uchiha. He heard Sasuke stop a couple of steps behind him as well, the howling of the wind making the silence between them unbearably loud.

"Naruto, there's something very important that I have to tell you," the raven stepped closer and compelled him to turn around, "You made me come to a conclusion tonight: I can't hide the way I feel about you anymore. You have no idea how hard I tried to; how long I endured witnessing that smile of yours only to remind myself that I could never call it mine."

Sasuke took the final step down and stood parallel to him, his expression firm and accepting. "Naruto, I am in love with you. I have been for what's felt like an eternity; the ever-passing days each bringing a new level of foreboding and the feeling that I was slowly rotting away inside. As the years progressed and our bond strengthened, it became harder and harder for me to contain my feelings for you. I was in complete denial because I knew you could never love me back. Not only that, but we were both males. It was _wrong; _and I knew it. But the way your tan skin glowed beneath the sun's rays and your blue eyes radiated nothing but warmth and comfort was almost enough to convince me otherwise. And then that day at the clearing I became lost in the moment, and my grip on my last shred of sanity slipped just like that. When I kissed you your lips tasted even more amazing than I had imagined; and when you returned my kiss I felt so full of delight that I got even more carried away. But then you pulled away and my brain began working again. Once I had realized what I'd done, I was so afraid of what you were going to say that I panicked and said abominable things to you. I'm so about sorry that Naruto, and I'm sorry if you don't-"

Naruto didn't allow him to continue as he closed the distance between them and roughly crashed his lips onto Sasuke's, taking him by surprise.

Naruto himself did really know why he had done that, but as he experimentally moved his lips against the Uchiha's he was rewarded with immediate response from him. Feeling a bit more enthusiastic, Naruto brought his hands to the small of Sasuke's back, pushing his body closer and intensifying the heat between them.

Sasuke followed his example and wound his hands around his neck, making an excited chill run down Naruto's spine. He'd never had experience kissing somebody like this, but he realized he really had been missing out. Sasuke was a naturally good kisser, his lips pressing up against his with bruising force and desperation. Naruto could tell he had wanted this for a very long time, and he was happy to finally give it to him. But just like everything else, they refused to allow the other to get the upper hand, their lips beginning to move wildly against each other as they fought for dominance. Hands clung to whatever part of each other they encountered, saying what words could never explain out loud.

But the struggle for air was beginning to win them over, and this time Sasuke was the one to pull away, a string of their mixed saliva the only thing still connecting one to the other. He rested his pale forehead against Naruto's tanner one, closing his eyes, a growing smile gracing his lips as their breaths mingled in the warm night air.

"Does this mean you're just another fangirl?" Sasuke asked teasingly, bringing his hand up to graze Naruto's cheek.

"As if teme. Although I guess I can see why they're all so infatuated with you. You're quite the closet romantic. And when you smile like that it kinda makes me feel like everything we just went through was worth it," Naruto said sincerely, still holding onto the Uchiha's waist like it was his lifeline. And at this point, that wasn't too far from the truth.

Naruto leaned in for a chaste kiss and took Sasuke by surprise when he lifted him up and started slowly spinning them around as they locked lips. None of them really cared who saw them together anymore; all that mattered was that they were here and they were together.

* * *

Once he finally got Naruto to put him down and let him breathe again, Sasuke took Naruto's hand and intertwined their fingers. "I have a better place in mind where we can be alone. Plus, it's starting to get cold out here," he said when he saw Naruto's questioning face.

"O-Oh, yeah, we are at your house after all..." Naruto chuckled nervously, scratching the back of his head with his hand.

Sasuke just raised an eyebrow at that and proceeded to lead him around the front entrance of the castle, deviating to the back of the second gate where an obscured door was built into the side of the palace wall. He reached out to open it, the wooden door creaking loudly as it slowly swung inside to reveal an old passageway.

"My grandfather had it built when he had just become king in the case of an invasion, but luckily there's never been any use for it until now. It leads all the way up to the third floor, which is where my room happens to be," Sasuke elaborated while he walked inside, Naruto in tow.

"Wow, it's pretty cool in here! You should've told me about this ages ago, we could've had so much fun playing in here!" Naruto exclaimed, entertaining himself by looking at every inch of the passageway with fascinated eyes.

Sasuke smiled at his childishness. This was also one of the things he liked about Naruto. It was nice to be around someone with so much optimism and innocence when everyone at home was always so severe.

"You're too cute."

"Shut up you jerk," Naruto pouted, his hand tightening around Sasuke's.

He smirked at the blonde's behavior and refrained from saying anything else until they reached the end of the hall where a trapdoor on the roof awaited them. "This leads to an empty part of my closet," Sasuke said, pointing above his head at it.

Naruto blanched after taking one glance at the thing, taking an involuntary step backwards. "You expect me to go up in that thing?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes, I do. Stop being such a baby and open it, will you? Are you _trying_ to make me think badly of you?" Sasuke said, exasperated. Here he was going through all this trouble for him, and Naruto had decided to start getting bitchy about their less-than-desirable conditions at that precise moment.

"Of course not!" Naruto growled in defiance. But Sasuke knew that even if he was feeling a bit apprehensive Naruto would never admit it to anyone; especially not him.

"Well then hurry the hell up," he prompted, nudging the blonde forward and letting go of his hand in order for him to be able to reach up better.

With a small glare sent Sasuke's way, Naruto pushed up onto the trapdoor and moved it open, a cloud of dust raining down on his head as it opened.

"Oh fuck!" Naruto cursed when he saw what had happened, groaning as he tried patting the dust of his head with his hands. "Don't just stand there and laugh, at least help me out teme!"

He hadn't noticed until Naruto pointed it out, but he actually had been laughing at the sight before him. How typical of Naruto, being the only one that could make him laugh.

He rolled his eyes and helped brush the dust from Naruto's shoulders, arms, and torso; his hands lingering on both sides of the blonde's waist on his way to his legs, taking his time to feel out the protruding hip bones. Naruto sucked in a breath as he did this, cheeks reddening at the sensual touch.

"Don't... Do that," Naruto choked out, reaching down to move away his wrist.

"Relax dobe, don't get too excited. I was just brushing away dust," Sasuke muttered, moving his hand himself before Naruto could touch it.

When they had done the best they could to remove all the dirt, Sasuke stood himself up again and jumped. He gripped onto either side of the opening and did his best to lift himself up, but given his tight surroundings it proved to be a difficult feat.

"Naruto, give me a hand and boost me up," Sasuke commanded.

"Alright, hold tight," Naruto said, shuffling up to where Sasuke's legs dangled and using his hands to haul him further up. Once Sasuke managed to get himself completely inside his closet, he spread himself out on the floor and told Naruto to jump up. He did, and soon enough his blonde head was peeking up at him from below.

"Give me your hands, I'll pull you up," Sasuke said, steadying himself in preparation for the sudden weight he would have to be pulling. Naruto nodded and moved his hands to where Sasuke could reach them. He grabbed ahold of them and slowly pulled Naruto inside, giving it one last pull before he finally got him all the way up. However his momentum knocked him off-balance, and before he knew it they were in the same position they had been in yesterday at the clearing.

"What do you say we finish what we started," Sasuke said huskily, not giving Naruto a chance to respond and bringing his head down for a kiss anyway.

This time was nothing compared to their first; they both freely touched everywhere as they made out on the hard floor, their fight for dominance being taken to a whole new level. However Sasuke was currently at the disadvantage underneath Naruto's body, and he aimed to change that. While Naruto was distracted kissing him, Sasuke took the opportunity to hook his legs on either side of the blonde's and flip them both over, swapping their positions. Naruto let out an involuntary growl as the control was taken away from him, and the next thing they knew, they were wrestling for the top spot, never breaking the kiss in the process (strangely enough). They eventually ended up on their feet and moving around, getting out of his closet and knocking down all sorts of things from desks and drawers.

Damn. Sasuke was practically shaking with anticipation for them to go further. If this was what happened when they were just kissing, he could only imagine what sort of things they would do in a more heated state.

Naruto seemingly read his mind, because in the following second he felt a tentative brush of a tongue along his bottom lip. Sasuke opened his mouth in surprise and inadvertently granted Naruto access inside. He had to hold back a gasp when Naruto began to greedily probe his mouth, the languid movement of his hot tongue sending reverberating chills down Sasuke's spine.

It took him a minute to register that he had yielded to Naruto's advances and had now given him control of the kiss. But as much as he wanted to, Sasuke's traitorous body wouldn't allow him to fight back anymore; relishing in the incredible heat he was feeling all over his body. He felt particularity flustered in the lower regions of his torso, the unmistakable hardening of his length beginning to distract him from everything else.

It didn't help that Naruto was sucking on his tongue at the moment, a small groan escaping Sasuke's throat as the blonde continued his ministrations. Just as it was starting to getting good, Naruto detached his mouth from his. He moved his hands up to his shoulders and roughly shoved him down on his bed, arms at either side of Sasuke's face.

Sasuke gave him a startled look but the blonde chose to ignore him, eyeing the raven's chest with a feral look instead. Before he could stop him, Naruto reached his hands down and quickly yanked off his shirt, throwing it aside and leaning forward, sliding his knee up in between Sasuke's legs and getting dangerously close to his groin.

Naruto started back up again on the raven's lips, but this time he only kissed him briefly, sliding his tongue down Sasuke's chin to his jawline. Meanwhile Sasuke was left defenseless; his only option being to lie there and let himself get lost in the kisses. He bit back a gasp when he felt a very slight graze on his right ear, surprised at the sensitivity of the area.

He felt Naruto's smirk at the new discovery. So, the idiot was getting confident now that he was getting a feel for what felt good to him, eh? Just when Sasuke was thinking of fighting back, Naruto decided to have a change of pace again, a cold hand dragging itself along his muscular torso. The hand traced itself along the ridges of Sasuke's abdomen while Naruto moved his lips down to his collarbone, nipping and sucking on the sensitive areas rather skillfully considering he had no previous experience. All of this was really beginning to take its toll on him; he could feel himself getting more and more desperate by the second.

The probing hand paused momentarily when it encountered a soft pink nipple, rubbing it experimentally and then squeezing it more boldly when Naruto noticed Sasuke's positive response. Then he became a bit more rough with his touch, massaging his nipple with a ravishing force and simultaneously biting down so hard on Sasuke's neck that the raven's back arched at the sensation, a half-suppressed moan vibrating in his throat. He had no idea what just happened, but it had felt amazing.

"N-Naruto, wha... Ngh," Sasuke managed to say breathily, his pale arms clutching harshly onto Naruto's back when the blonde did the same thing a second time.

"You like that don't you," Naruto smirked, lips grazing the Uchiha's neck as he spoke.

"Damn you," he answered, pushing Naruto's body back down onto his chest. Unfortunately, he wasn't the only one with a growing problem and he felt Naruto's erection press up against his own quite prominently when their hips came into contact.

They both exhaled sharply at the slight friction, Naruto's face immediately flushing at the touch. For some reason Sasuke didn't feel embarrassed at all; in fact, this only made him want to feel more of the man he loved, impatience quickly becoming the emotion he felt the most at the moment. Without thinking he pulled Naruto's top of without so much as a warning, bringing the blonde back to his senses and making him once again aware of the situation. It was kind of hard to see because of the shrouding darkness of the night, but that didn't stop Sasuke from licking his lips at the wonderful sight that was Naruto's abdominals. It wasn't the first time he'd ever seen them, but in his currently aroused state of mind it felt like it was. Now that he allowed himself to think about, Naruto was actually really hot. Apart from himself, there were very few people he knew that were exceptionally fit, and Naruto was definitely somewhere at the top of that list.

Naruto didn't fail to notice the look Sasuke had given him and was quick to completely remove the shirt from his neck, throwing the lovely piece of material back in the direction where he had thrown Sasuke's earlier. Naruto's hands moved down to pin his arms at his sides, sending him a mischievous grin before moving his head to the pectoral area of Sasuke's chest, tongue lapping out at a hardened nipple. Taking Sasuke by surprise, he closed his lips around the nub and grazed the whole thing with his teeth. Sasuke struggled to push the blonde's face away before he could make even more embarrassing noises, but Naruto had already guessed that would have happened and didn't remove his hands from his arms. Slurping and sucking on one nipple, Naruto used his hand to massage Sasuke's other pink nub, sending a plethora of pleasuring sensations throughout all of the raven's being.

When Sasuke let out a particularity loud moan he could feel Naruto's cock dig even more persistently into his own; the only barrier between them the pants they were both wearing. Despite all the pleasure he was receiving from the treatment on his nipples, Sasuke wanted more, and he simply didn't have the strength or the drive to restrain his body anymore. He groaned loudly when his hips moved on their own and ground against Naruto's; the friction feeling so delicious that he couldn't help but push up against the blonde even more in hopes of attaining even more pleasure.

"Hah.. Sasuke," Naruto ground out, completely stopping what he was doing to relish in the good feeling. After all, Sasuke had been neglecting to return the favor during the entire time they had been in the bedroom, and he was starting to become too hard to feel comfortable in his tight pants for much longer.

Naruto bucked his hips downward and lent down to plant a wet, sloppy kiss on Sasuke's bruised lips, his nails digging painfully into the Uchiha's forearms from the friction. Sasuke kissed him back passionately, trying to get his hands loose from under Naruto's in order to run his fingers through the other's hair, but he wouldn't let up his hold. That is, not until Sasuke found an angle where he could get maximum contact and exploited it; Naruto's hands letting go in surprise. Sasuke didn't hesitate to yank a little harder than was necessary once he tangled his nimble digits into the locks of blonde, eliciting a pained noise from his partner.

Both of them were at a point where their hardened manhoods were on the verge of painful. Sasuke didn't waste any time in feverishly unhooking his pants from his waist; but he hadn't gotten very far when Naruto interfered, pushing his pale hands away and pulling the waistband down along his thighs to his knees. He stopped there and let Sasuke take care of the rest, watching with a longing expression at the Uchiha's length.

Once he kicked them off Sasuke immediately felt a hand slide down his navel to his throbbing erection, the breath in his lungs whistling out through clamped teeth. "Fuck.." he groaned, suddenly feeling weak in the knees. It wasn't like he had never taken to pleasuring himself before, but the feel of someone else's hand on his manhood was completely different from using his own. Not only that, but usually the man stroking his length was the reason that he even had to masturbate in the first place; it was not helping one bit that the object of his wet dreams was really actually there, on his bed, making his head spin with his incredible heat.

"Sasuke... Take mine off too," Naruto practically commanded, taking his wrist and placing it on his waist. Usually he was never one to take orders from anybody, but he was already so lost in an aroused haze that he decided he didn't care at the moment. He complied without a sound, taking them off in one swift motion and being presented with Naruto's sizable dick. It stood up even higher than his own, pre-cum already leaking from the slit on its tip. He knew he had made the blonde aroused; but he had never expected him to be this turned on already.

Naruto noticed him staring at it and blushed even more, averting his gaze for a second while he tried to get over the embarrassment. Sasuke smiled to himself and palmed the base of Naruto's cock in his hand, taking care to notice his reaction. He nearly cried out at the contact, his tan hand squeezing Sasuke's own cock painfully. They spent about a minute working away at each other's manhoods, Sasuke at one point having pushed them against each other and sitting upright, allowing them to pump at both of their erections simultaneously. It was so amazing that Sasuke could feel himself reaching his limit, holding in his ensuing orgasm as best he could while pleasuring his partner. However, he could no longer hold back his moans, letting them out tremulously in Naruto's ear with very little restriction.

The blonde then allowed Sasuke to take over, digging his fingers into his hips and massaging his inner thighs, slowly moving to the Uchiha's backside. Sasuke involuntarily sucked in a breath when he felt fingers running tantalizingly along his crack, Naruto's mouth suddenly becoming active again as he furiously sucked at his neck. He was sure that by tomorrow morning his throat would be covered in purple bruises, and strangely, he was way more okay with that then he should've been.

The curious digits previously on his ass abruptly removed themselves all together, leaving an empty sensation behind in their wake. Sasuke furrowed his eyebrows in confusion when Naruto brought them up to his lips, gesturing at him to open his mouth. When he did the blonde inserted two fingers into his wet cavern, moving them around and getting as much saliva onto them as he could before taking them back out again with a pop.

Sasuke soon understood his motives when he felt an intrusive penetration in his entrance, throwing his head back and crying out when Naruto sunk his entire finger inside. Where the hell had that come from? Sasuke knew what they were doing before was way more intimate than just making out on the stairs, but the thought of penetrative sex had never really crossed his mind until then. Apparently that was all Naruto had been thinking about when they got into this, which made Sasuke uncomfortable realizing that Naruto had intended to dominate him this whole time.

The feeling of an entire finger being encased inside him wasn't really painful, but he did feel a slight stinging at it. The fact that he was currently being finger fucked was more disturbing to him than anything else. Then Naruto started moving his finger around, causing him to tense up and moan way more loudly then he would've ever cared to admit.

"Hah! N-Naruto," he cried out, straddling his thighs around Naruto's torso and dragging his nails down Naruto's back as he continued the treatment. When Sasuke was just beginning to get used to the feel of his finger, the blonde decided to add in another digit , eliciting some more moaning and groaning from him. He eventually added two more fingers, filling Sasuke up and stretching him in preparation for something much bigger. He started making scissoring movements with his fingers, exploring the deepest parts of his lover and relishing in the incredible tightness of Sasuke's hole. Then Naruto began quicken his movements, pulling his fingers almost all the way out and then slamming them back in knuckle-deep. While he did this he hit him in a particular angle that reached a bundle of nerves, the sheer rocking of pleasure through this body making his eyes roll into the back of his head and his back to arch wildly. The loud scream he let out echoed inside the room. Once the intense pleasure was gone Naruto moved his fingers again, hitting the same spot and causing the same reaction from him. It was like he was pushing a button that immediately sent Sasuke to the edge of a pleasure-filled euphoria without any warning at all.

Once Naruto was satisfied with how stretched out Sasuke's entrance was, he took his fingers out and moved the raven's body flat on the bed, positioning himself right above his ass. Before he did anything else he used one hand to pin Sasuke's arms above his head and the other to gently caress his pale face.

"You have no idea how much I want this, but I have to make sure you're okay with it," he whispered softly, brushing aside a strand of black hair and staring lovingly into his eyes.

"We haven't made it this far only to turn back now. I want it just as much as you do, dobe," Sasuke said, kissing him once before bucking his hips slightly as reassurance.

Naruto smirked and nodded his head, moving his rock-hard erection to the front of his entrance. Naruto made sure to enter him slowly, but in spite of all his efforts the pain was still a little overwhelming. Once he was all the way inside if him, Naruto waited for him to adjust to his length before moving again. It took a while and even then it still hurt a little, but Sasuke finally nodded his head for Naruto to continue.

The blonde eagerly complied, keeping a slow rhythmic pace at first. Soon enough all Sasuke could feel was amazing pleasure and the sudden need for more. He started meeting Naruto's thrusts with his own, encouraging the blonde to move faster and deeper. The only sounds in the room were the erratic moans coming from both Naruto and Sasuke and the wet slapping of skin on skin. Sasuke could feel his orgasm coming and he knew Naruto was close too.

"Ah, Sasuke, I'm about to come," Naruto cried, confirming the raven's suspicions. He picked up speed and began to thrust into him even deeper, abusing his prostrate with such force that all Sasuke could do was claw at his back and lose himself in all the pleasure.

Sasuke came first; sticky white semen spurting out of his manhood and spilling itself all over his and Naruto's torsos as he experienced the hardest orgasm he'd ever had in his life. Naruto quickly followed suit when he felt the overwhelming tightening of Sasuke's muscles around his dick, riding out his orgasm as he filled the raven with his seed; screaming out his beloved's name.

* * *

Naruto collapsed onto the bed, landing right next to Sasuke and lazily draping an arm over the paler boy's body.

"I love you Sasuke," he whispered into his lover's ear.

"I love you too, even if you are a dobe," Sasuke whispered back, slowly turning his body sideways and planting a sloppy kiss on Naruto's cheek, caressing it lovingly.

As much as Naruto wanted to lie there naked with him, he knew that people will have started to look for him by now. He wasn't sure how exactly their relationship would work after this, but Naruto knew they would make it happen somehow. Love always found a way. Right?

"Ne, Sasuke, I think your guests have started to miss you at the ball. It's getting pretty late and I'm sure they're very impatient to know who their prince has chosen to marry. You're gonna disappoint a lot of people since you're not actually marrying anyone," Naruto rambled, failing to take notice of the look Sasuke was giving him.

"Who said I wasn't marrying anyone?" Sasuke inquired, quirking an eyebrow at Naruto.

"O-Oh... I just thought..."

Naruto didn't know what to say as a tremendous feeling if disappointment and betrayal washed over him. How could Sasuke say that when they literally had just made love?

"You're the one I choose. I'm marrying you Naruto," Sasuke said a little impatiently.

He raised his head in shock when his brain was finally able to process the words Sasuke had just said. He wanted to marry him. _Him_, the host of the fox demon Kurama, Uzumaki Naruto.

"Did you just propose to me?" he asked with a marveled expression, placing both hands on either side of Sasuke's face and holding it up so they could stare into each other's eyes.

"I... suppose you can call it that. Let's face it, I'm never gonna fall in love this way with anybody else, and I'd much rather spend the rest of my life with you than someone like Sakura," Sasuke conceded after a minute, shutting his eyes with a grimace when Naruto began to bounce up an down on the bed happily.

"Do you really mean it? What about your father?"

The Uchiha shrugged his shoulders like he didn't really care. "It doesn't say anywhere in the old royal laws what gender our spouses have to be, only that we get married by the age of seventeen or be forced to give up the throne to our younger siblings."

"Nice Sasuke, you found a really great loophole!" Naruto laughed, wrapping his arms around the raven and squeezing what little energy he had left out of him.

"Let's just get cleaned up, I'm pretty sure all this cum isn't going to look very nice once it's all dried up," Sasuke said, his stern attitude returning already.

"Ugh, why? I'm too tired to do anything right now!" Naruto complained childishly, hiding his head underneath the covers.

In the end though, Sasuke forced him to help clean up the mess. Once they were dressed again, they exited the palace through the same way they had come, trying their best to blend in when they managed to get inside the ballroom without arousing any attention.

"You stay there while I go up to the podium and announce my decision to everyone," Sasuke instructed him.

Naruto nodded and watched the raven disappear into the crowd, fixing his shoe as he did so. Sasuke had picked up the shoe he had left behind while he was running earlier when they retuned to the front of the castle. It was actually really kind of him, considering it was Sasuke he was talking about.

He heard a hush go through the crowd as a random servant announced that Prince Sasuke had chosen who he was going to marry; a large group of girls who all though it was them making their way to the front closer to where Sasuke was. Naruto couldn't help but smile to himself. What a surprise everyone would be in for when they found out their lovely prince was marrying the host of the fox demon.

"I would like to announce who I will wed in exactly one week," Sasuke began, searching for Naruto in the crowd with his eyes and smiling when he finally saw him. Many girls let out excited squeals and a few even stepped up to the few stairs that led to where Sasuke was standing in all their confidence.

"I am marrying the love of my life, Uzumaki Naruto," the Uchiha announced after a suspenseful moment of silence.

The amount of scandalized gasps that erupted throughout the guests was almost laughable, the eyes of every person that was around him turning to stare with shock.

"No! I knew it! I knew you were stealing my Sasuke-kun away from me this whole time Uzumaki!" a loud yell from the group of girls that had moved to the front carried above all the rest of the voices. He only knew one person that could possibly be that obstreperous: Sakura.

He rolled his eyes and actually laughed that time, making eye contact with Sasuke. As he made his way over to him he caught a glance of the half-infuriated half-shocked look on King Fugaku's face. He too was heading toward Sasuke, but his steps were much heavier than Naruto's. Itachi, who had been standing beside Sasuke during his announcement, didn't move an inch, a small smile pressing against his lips at the whole situation. Of course Sasuke's older brother had seen all of this coming. He was beyond smart, and he knew the both of them well enough to feel their chemistry before they did (or at least before Naruto did).

Upon reaching his now fiancé, Naruto interlocked hands with him and turned to face the crowd. Without any warning, Naruto tilted Sasuke's chin and kissed him sweetly right then and there, in front of the entire kingdom and Sasuke's family. When they pulled away from each other the whole room had gone quiet, and Naruto chose that moment to speak. "As you all just witnessed, your prince was quite serious when he said he wanted to marry me, and of course, I accept."

Another moment of silence passed when loud cheering came from almost all of Sasuke's fangirls (the exception being Sakura). Loud screams of "You're my new OTP!" and "It's yaoi in real life!" could be heard all around the ballroom, and pretty soon everyone started clapping for the prince's newfound love.

* * *

A week after as Sasuke had promised, they'd had a huge wedding right in front of the lake where they had first met, the entire kingdom having shown up for the event.

Naruto couldn't remember a day when he had been any happier. He had made Jiraiya and Tsunade his guests of honor; while the bridesmaids consisted of their newfound fan club and the grooms had been Itachi, Neji, and Iruka. Even Sakura had shown up for the occasion, apologizing for her behavior at the ball and even admitting that they were kind of hot together.

And when the priest had told them they could say "I do," Naruto had said it with the same smile that he had given Sasuke on the day of their meeting. Then they kissed vigorously, not caring that everyone was watching.

Of course, the squeals and giggles were so loud that neither of them could hear themselves think, but then again, maybe that wasn't such a bad thing.

And just like a fairy tale, they lived happily ever after.

* * *

Sorry for the cheesy ending; I just couldn't resist the urge to add in that final line. Just to let everyone know, it wasn't my intention to bash Sakura; it's just that I needed at least one person to sort of fit into the role of the evil stepsister, and I found her to be quite fitting (although I didn't actually make her anyone's stepsister).

I didn't mention before that most of the one-shots will be about the same length as this one, so expect 2-3 week periods before I update again so that I can have time to edit and let my beta go through my prototypical messes. My goals for this series are to convert as many fairy tales as I can and make them revolve around our favorite boys ;). I'll also make a few exceptions with classic stories (like for example, Romeo and Juliet) but if you think I missed a story feel free to PM me about any questions/concerns that you may have. I hope you all enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

A special thanks out to my wonderful beta, Silver Ecstasy, for helping make this series possible!


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